Adidas & Athlete Ally Aim to Make Sports More Inclusive

Interview with Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor on his continued partnership with adidas.

Adidas teams up with Athlete Ally for third straight year. / adidas

This year, adidas again partners with the nonprofit LGBTQ+ athletic advocacy group Athlete Ally and its founder, Hudson Taylor (partners since 2020).

During the month of PRIDE, adidas is empowering customers to help end homophobia and transphobia in sport by making a donation checkout or turning their adiClub points into a donation, with contributions helping Athlete Ally.

Additionally, for the third year, adidas will be presenting sponsor for the Athlete Activism Summit at the University of Louisville from June 27 – 30, 2024, supporting Athlete Ally this year with athlete speaker engagement and mental health programming.

Leading up to the exciting event, Sports Illustrated spoke with Taylor about his partnership with adidas and vision for the future.

The Athlete Activism Summit. / adidas

You have worked with adidas since 2020; how has the brand been as a partner?

"Adidas has been the kind of partner that a nonprofit could only dream of. When you're trying to make sport a more welcoming space for the LGBTQ community, it can be an uphill battle. But when you have a partner like adidas, that is really standing shoulder to shoulder with you, day in and day out, over many years, it really makes the progress feel really possible. So they have really helped us scale our programs and impact in ways that we couldn't be more grateful for."

The Athlete Activism Summit is this week. What do you hope to accomplish?

"The Athlete Activism Summit is our annual conference where we bring together college athletes, coaches, and administrators from across the country for a weekend of programming on how to create a more welcoming environment in sports.

My hope is for knowledge to be given to those who want to effect change. I want them to feel as though they are part of the community that is supporting their activism. Lastly, I want them to walk away feeling like they have a course of action. They can go back to their university in the fall and make their team everything we know it can and should be."

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How would you like to see your work with adidas expand in the future?

"I believe we will end homophobia and transphobia in sports. Almost like aim small, miss small. I believe that liberation lives locally, so I hope we can get really good at offering holistic support to a university that wants to make its athletic department the most inclusive department in the country.

So that means everything from the education we want to provide to their coaches, athletes, and administrators. We're building out our original climate assessment. We have our athletic equality index, where we rank and report the qualities and practices. We have our Athlete Ally chapters. We want schools to attend our summit.

So, really, the future for me is about looking at an individual school, looking at the needs of those student-athletes, and being able to go to those schools in partnership with adidas, and saying, 'If you want your athletic department to be the most accepting and welcoming space in the country, we are an organization that can work with you to make that possible'."

How can we shape sports culture?

"Sports culture doesn't create us; we create it. Sport is a human invention, and if we want it to be a space where everyone belongs, it is a choice that we can all make. I just want everyone to feel like they have a part to play in making sport the most welcoming and inclusive space possible."

Last question: What adidas sneakers are you wearing this summer?

"I don't know if this is exactly summer attire, but my favorite adidas collaboration is the Keith Haring x Stan Smith. I've had those shoes for a couple of years now, and I love it when art, culture, and aesthetics come together. Anything in the collaboration between Keith Haring and adidas is something I try to rock as often as I can."

Further Reading: James Harden announced more release dates for his eighth signature adidas sneaker.